Catherine LaPointe
Upstate New York-based artist Catherine LaPointe-Vollmer creates contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings in soft pastel. Her work centers on the effects of light and shadow on the landscape, with a particular focus on the distinct character and personality of trees.
Catherine hails from the "North Country," a rural area of New York State between the Adirondack Mountains and Canada, infused with rivers, trees, and mountains. She developed a love of hiking and adventuring early on and naturally sought to capture the views she found and put them to paper.
After completing internships with the Florence International Theater Company in Italy and Illustration House in New York City, Catherine earned her BFA in Illustration at Syracuse University. She moved back north while she established her freelance practice. A frequent traveler, her love of the natural world grew with each place she visited. This led her to a practice of plein air painting on location and a focus on landscape art. She recently visited her 40th U.S. national park, creating artwork inspired by her trips.
Catherine LaPointe-Vollmer is an award-winning artist who has exhibited widely in institutional museums such as the Frederic Remington Museum, in commercial galleries throughout the country (especially in the Adirondack Mountains and North Country region of New York State), and in additional shows through the International Association of Pastel Societies.
She has received grants and awards from a variety of art institutions, such as the New York Statewide Community Regrant Program and Creatives Rebuild New York.
Her work can be found in many private collections around the world. She is represented by the TAUNY Center (Canton, NY), the Downtown Artist Cellar (Malone, NY), Tupper Arts (Tupper Lake, NY), the Natural Edge (Long Lake, NY), and the Creative Spirit Arts Center (Potsdam, NY).
Artist Statement
Growing up in a rural area surrounded by nature, I always took its abundance for granted. It wasn’t until I started traveling as an adult that I realized I didn’t need to go far to find the beauty that inspires me. My soft pastel paintings shine light on familiar sights and quiet scenes that I might otherwise have just driven by.
Whether working from my reference photos or en plein air, I try to capture the freshness of a moment before the light changes. I start by planning out the scene with simple thumbnail sketches in two or three values to identify interesting patterns of light and dark. I then simplify any details that might distract from this pattern and illuminate the scene using the rich colors and textures of pastel.
I am especially drawn to patterns of light and dark in nature because of the scarcity of the sun in my northern climate. For a few brief moments, the sun holds the power to transform the shape of my surroundings before disappearing again. I believe there is beauty in the humble and mundane, if you look at it in just the right light.
www.CatherineLaPointe.com
